Regal Princess Baltics Cruise Review –May 24 to June 4, 2015 (long)

[BRANDEE]

Thank you for your detailed review. I am doing the Baltic next June and copied down so much great information.

 

Chris

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review thanks. :)

[rlj1973]

Thank you for this extensive review. We've booked this cruise for next Spring, and your review was most helpful.

 

Roger Johnson

[RNRcruisers]

This trip is definitely on my list. Thanks for the great information!

[eandj]

We are cruising this itinerary at the end of July. I'm glad we have booked SPB tours for a couple other ports besides St. P. We too like walking, but could see with all the ports, we needed some guidance at a few other ports. We intend to do Oslo , Aarhus and Talinn on our own. As well as a night pre and post in Copenhagen. I think those ports are easiest and we can do things on our pace.

 

Your information as well as lots on the Europe board have been invaluable.

Is there anything other than adding a few more tours, that you would have done differently? Were there ports where you didn't need local currency or were you prepared with all types?

 

Thanks so much!

Edited June 30, 2015 by eandj

[cruzisme]

Excellent detailed review!

We also booked with SPB years ago, definitely recommend them.

Loved this itinerary but it is exhausting.

[Madame B]

Were there ports where you didn't need local currency or were you prepared with all types?

 

Thanks so much!

We did this trip in May. Many of the shops in the many different countries take both euros and American dollars, so there is no need to get their money. You may need a few small euro coins for restrooms. In fact, there were no free restrooms to, from, and in Berlin.

[rlj1973]

I read through your very interesting review tonight, and I do have one question about the ship, specifically the Promenade (or lack thereof). NCL made a similar change on the Breakaway and probably the Getaway, though we haven't been on that ship. On the Breakaway, you could walk back on and forth on either side of the ship. Not as good as being able to walk all the way around, but it turned out to be an acceptable alternative. Is the Regal Princess the same, or is the walking/running track up on top the only outdoor opportunity to walk?

 

Roger

[annemarieyph]

Hi, thanks for the writeup. Just like to know if it is easy to get the passports from the cruise lines onboard if we go with SPB tours or any external agents .

Also appreciate it if you could let me know if Regal Princess provide bottled shampoo and bath.

[caribill]

Hi, thanks for the writeup. Just like to know if it is easy to get the passports from the cruise lines onboard if we go with SPB tours or any external agents .

 

For ports where a passport is required (St. Pete) , they will be returned to all passengers before the port and collected again when leaving the port.

 

If you do need it for going ashore in other ports, you can ask at the Purser's desk to retrieve it.

 

Also appreciate it if you could let me know if Regal Princess provide bottled shampoo and bath.

 

All Princess ships supply a combined shampoo/conditioner and a body wash mounted in the shower.

 

Many have commented that the combined shampoo/conditioner does not work for them.

 

If you would rather use bar soap in the shower, just ask your cabin steward for an extra bar.

[canuck13]

We are cruising this itinerary at the end of July. I'm glad we have booked SPB tours for a couple other ports besides St. P. We too like walking, but could see with all the ports, we needed some guidance at a few other ports. We intend to do Oslo , Aarhus and Talinn on our own. As well as a night pre and post in Copenhagen. I think those ports are easiest and we can do things on our pace.

 

Those are good choices to do on your own. Of the 3, Oslo is the most spread out & you will need to use public transit there. Aarhus and Tallin are quite walkable.

 

Your information as well as lots on the Europe board have been invaluable.

Is there anything other than adding a few more tours, that you would have done differently? Were there ports where you didn't need local currency or were you prepared with all types?

 

We bought Euros and US$ with us. The Euros made life easier since they are the currency of 3 countries. I also bought local currency via an ATM in Denmark, but we could have managed just fine without this. My Canadian CC with pin & chip was accepted everywhere. Our American travel partners had a few occasions where their non chip card was declined and I had to come to the rescue with mine.

 

Edited July 1, 2015 by canuck13
typo

[canuck13]

We did this trip in May. Many of the shops in the many different countries take both euros and American dollars, so there is no need to get their money. You may need a few small euro coins for restrooms. In fact, there were no free restrooms to, from, and in Berlin.

 

I agree it's good to have some local change for emergencies. However we did the entire trip without once using a pay toilet. The key is to never pass up an opportunity. All the City Halls have free restrooms as do all museums and any cafe where you're making a purchase. For Berlin, there were restrooms on the train to & from. Our Reichstag tour gave us access there & Topography of Terror and our lunch stop got us through until we were back on the train.

[canuck13]

I read through your very interesting review tonight, and I do have one question about the ship, specifically the Promenade (or lack thereof). NCL made a similar change on the Breakaway and probably the Getaway, though we haven't been on that ship. On the Breakaway, you could walk back on and forth on either side of the ship. Not as good as being able to walk all the way around, but it turned out to be an acceptable alternative. Is the Regal Princess the same, or is the walking/running track up on top the only outdoor opportunity to walk?

 

On the Regal (& the Royal), there are open sections of the promenade midship and aft with lounge chairs and tables. They made a small change on the Regal to allow some walking space between these areas. However it's a very narrow passage between the ship and lifeboats and not a pleasant walk at all. The walking track up top is a much better alternative. Most of the day it's partially shaded and was better than we expected.

Edited July 1, 2015 by canuck13

[canuck13]

Hi, thanks for the writeup. Just like to know if it is easy to get the passports from the cruise lines onboard if we go with SPB tours or any external agents .

Also appreciate it if you could let me know if Regal Princess provide bottled shampoo and bath.

 

We were not required to surrender our passports. We kept them in our stateroom safe and took them with us as required. St. Petersburg was the only port where we had to show passports.

[rlj1973]

On the Regal (& the Royal), there are open sections of the promenade midship and aft with lounge chairs and tables. They made a small change on the Regal to allow some walking space between these areas. However it's a very narrow passage between the ship and lifeboats and not a pleasant walk at all. The walking track up top is a much better alternative. Most of the day it's partially shaded and was better than we expected.

 

Thanks. We'll check it out when we're on the Royal in August.

 

Roger

[annemarieyph]

Hi, this is Anne .

Just like to check how reliable are the external tour operators like SPB and Alla. Will they take us back to the ship on time based on your experience . Thanks.

 

Why are the external operators better ? The costs are about the same.

[canuck13]

Hi, this is Anne .

Just like to check how reliable are the external tour operators like SPB and Alla. Will they take us back to the ship on time based on your experience . Thanks.

 

Why are the external operators better ? The costs are about the same.

 

Hi Anne,

 

Our personal experience was that our SPB guide and driver were very time conscious and aware of when we had to be back on the ship. The first day we were 15 minutes behind schedule returning, but they knew that we had no evening plans and this wasn't a problem at all. Day 2 we saw everytjing on our agenda and were back on the ship 45 minutes early. I read a lot of reviews prior to our trip and I found no reports of any of the major tour companies being late returning passengers. They understand what this would do to their reputation should it happen.

 

I was surprised by your comment about the costs being the same so I went and checked current prices on the Princess website. Their standard 2 day tour is priced at about $450 pp on a bus with 32 people. Others on our ship arranged a similar tour for 16 people for $285 pp.

 

The Princess tour comparable to what we did, including Catherine's Palace, goes for $630 pp - again for a bus with 32. We paid $470 pp for a private tour for 4. In my opinion, the smaller group and personal attention gave us a vastly superior experience and more time at each site. We never felt rushed and didn't have to wait for anyone. There were a number of times we were able to re-route and dodge traffic in our minivan, something that wouldn't have been possible on a full size bus. We were fortunate to have a terrific guide and driver assigned to us - that's the one variable beyond anyone's control.

 

Hope this clarifies.

 

Bob

[annemarieyph]

Many thanks Bob for your clarification . Much appreciated.

[I_r_a]

Thanx much for a very good report.

 

Ira

[caribill]

Hi, this is Anne .

Just like to check how reliable are the external tour operators like SPB and Alla. Will they take us back to the ship on time based on your experience . Thanks.

 

Why are the external operators better ? The costs are about the same.

 

When we did a 2-day tour with Red October in St. Pete, the cost was about half of the Princess tour.

 

I can't say this was an equivalent tour to the Princess one because the Red October tour went to all the same sites that the Princess tour did plus additional sites that were not on the Princess tour.

 

However, no matter who people toured with (SPB, Red October, Princess, other) everyone I spoke with on our cruise said they enjoyed the experience.

Edited July 3, 2015 by caribill

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

Hi, this is Anne .

Just like to check how reliable are the external tour operators like SPB and Alla. Will they take us back to the ship on time based on your experience . Thanks.

 

Why are the external operators better ? The costs are about the same.

 

We are leaving tomorrow on this same cruise. After reading many reviews, we opted to use SPB as our tour operator in Berlin, St. Petersburg and Stockholm. They give larger discounts when you book more ports. They have been doing this for many years and they get people back to the ship in time. If these companies didn't do that, they wouldn't be in business long. I don't know where you are getting your price comparisons, but using SPB on these three tours saved us exactly one half of what Princess wanted.

[uc828]

Were the lines for the taxi long and did you notice the lines for bus 26 or public transportation. We have 5 people but we will be going to a hotel in the city centre.

[swanny727]

We were also on this cruise with another couple. You have done a great job so I don't need to rehash everything. Just a few additions:

 

- Peterhof was open, we were inside. However, we did not have a canal tour. I would have rather had that option after seeing Catherines Palace. Our friends made the tour reservation thru their TA. It was Shore Excrusions. All of our other stops were the same as SPB. We did not do any nighttime excursions in Russia. One of my wish list items was vodka with the locals. We did this in a bar during our scheduled lunch stop. Great bar with stuffed animal heads and a stuffed wolf. Our tour guide took pictures for us.

 

- Sweden: Follow the Blue line to the train for Stockholm. Be advised, no toilet on the train.

 

- Re: the large Asian contingent. I agree with the cultural differences as we have traveled in Asia also. But the pushing, shoving and inability to wait turns was very frustrating to experience. Our friends went to the Q and A with the cruise director. About 30% of the pax were from Asia, mostly mainland Chinese and Taiwan. Princess has recently started a heavy marketing campaign to this region and hope this large Asian trend continues. Some Chinese were also at this meeting and had complaints of their own: No Chinese - style entertainment, Desired Mandarin speaking room stewards and wait staff, Desired Mandarin speakers at front desk and Mandarin announcements. The answer was that the new itineraries out of Asia would have those things.

 

- The onboard entertainment was very good, some of the best I have seen on a ship. Special entertainers were brought in for various nights, such as an opera singer from London, so the entertainment won't be the same on each cruise.

 

If I think of anything else I will add it.

Diane

[caribill]

I agree with the cultural differences as we have traveled in Asia also. But the pushing, shoving and inability to wait turns was very frustrating to experience.

 

They are not being impolite. It is their culture. What we do in lining up is strange to them.

 

This is shown in the picture below from a presentation on a ship relocating to Asia:

 

(sorry it is a little fuzzy)

 

 

 

Some Chinese were also at this meeting and had complaints of their own: No Chinese - style entertainment, Desired Mandarin speaking room stewards and wait staff, Desired Mandarin speakers at front desk and Mandarin announcements.

 

On the ship we were on relocating to Asia (not Princess) there were already many native Chinese working at the front desk, as cabin stewards and as waitstaff in the dining rooms. They all spoke perfect English. With the size of China's population and the education available, many learn English in their schooling. In fact, we had less trouble communicating with the staff on that ship then we have with staff on most Princess ships.

Edited July 19, 2015 by caribill

[junglejane]

Caribill your visual explains a lot! I just got back from a Baltic cruise on the Caribbean Princess. We did not have many Asian pax, mostly British. But in the ports we encountered many Asian tour groups. I became increasingly frustrated with my experiences getting in line for the ladies toilet in various locations (including Stonehenge). It seemed that if one Asian lady made it into the line in front of you, 15 more would then feel entitled to attach themselves to her side. I found this very annoying but it did look just like your illustration.